1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a coordinate-inputting device with which a coordinate, at which an input member is positioned, is inputted to a computing system, and a method for making such a coordinate-inputting device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is particularly shown in FIG. 3, a known coordinate-inputting device includes a substrate 21 made of transparent glass, and an electrode 22 made of a transparent resistor layer and formed thereon. The electrode 22 has, on its upper side thereof, a plurality of insulating dot spacers 23 kept away from one another at intervals.
A transparent flexible film 24, which is made, for example, of polyethylene terephthalate, is formed over the dot spacers 23 through an electrode 25 made of a transparent resistor layer. A coat 27 made, for example, of an acrylic resin is further formed on the upper surface of the film 24 through an adhesive layer 26.
The film 24 is arranged in combination with the substrate 21 in such a way that the electrode 25 is disposed on the dot spacers 23 in face-to-face relation with the electrode 22, and is thus electrically insulated from the electrode 22.
In this type of coordinate-inputting device, an input member 28 is pressed or pushed against the coat 27 at a desired point until the coat layer 27 and the film 24 are, respectively, deformed to such an extent that the electrode 25 is in contact with the electrode 22 to input a coordinate corresponding to the point.
The known coordinate-inputting device makes use of the resin-based coat 27 in order to prevent the abrasion wear of the film 24. Since the coat 27 is made of a resin, this layer cannot be formed as having a desired degree of hardness. Upon repeated contact with the input member 28, there arises the problem that the coat 27 is liable to be damaged on the surface thereof.
The damaged surface is poor in appearance, with the attendant problem that the commercial value is depreciated. The resin-based coat 27 has such a high refractive index that its reflection becomes great, thus presenting the problem that light from below the substrate 21 becomes difficult to see due to the irregular reflection at the coat 27.